For His Glory Handiwork

Help with Borders! :)

2012-02-28T21:53:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging, been busy finishing up the blankets! And the border on the last one is being finished as I speak! YAY! We put a border of 3 rows of single crochet on every blanket, which helps hold it together and give it more stability. Unfortunately, the big ones tend to take quite awhile! :)

We had a little help with the borders from Mr. Gary! :) I was working on a border, and he insisted he help, so I showed him how.... he picked up amazingly fast, faster then anyone I ever remember teaching. Made me wonder if he's a closet crocheter! ;)

And not only did he pick up fast, he did an amazing job! Rachel (my friend, not my 2 yo sister) couldn't tell his stitches from mine! :)

Thanks for your help Gary!! Love ya!

Ultimate Scrubbie Pattern

2012-02-15T14:19:00.002-06:00

We interrupt the Block Party posts to post this scrubbie pattern... only because I accidentally published it, so had to finish the post! :)

I recently got an order for some scrubbies, and like always, I couldn't find a good pattern I liked so I made one up! This patttern is SUPER easy and SUPER fast!!!

Ultimate Scrubbie Pattern

You are welcome to sell items made from this pattern, but please do not sell or redistribute the pattern. You are welcome to link back here though!

Materials:

J hook

Stitch marker
Nylon Netting cut in 3 inch strips (tutorial coming soon!)

Pattern:
ch 2
Round 1: 6 sc in second ch from hook, place st marker in last st, and move it to last st of every round as you go through the pattern. (6 sc)
Starting now, and throughout the pattern, you will be working in back loops only.
Round 2: 2 sc in ea st around. (12 sc)
Round 3: *2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in next st, repeat from * around. (18 sc)
Round 4: *2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in next 2 sts, repeat from * around. (24 sc)
Round 5: *2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in next 3 sts, repeat from * around. (30 sc)
Round 6: 1 sc in each around. (30 sc)
Round 7: *sc dec in first/next st, sc in next 3 sts, repeat from * around. (24 sc)
Round 8: *sc dec in first/next st, sc in next 2 sts, repeat from * around. (18 sc)
After you finish round 8, the hole should be at a good size to lightly stuff the scrubbie with netting scraps if desired. I always do if I remember. :)
Round 9: *sc dec in first/next st, sc in next st, repeat from * around. (12 sc)
Round 10: sc dec in each st around. (6 sc)
Round 11: sc dec as many times as you can, fasten off. pull end through middle and into scrubbie. And you're done!

Block Party 2012 Report #3 - The Block Party!

2012-02-15T11:31:00.000-06:00

Bad blogger, I know... can I use I've been too busy sewing blankets together as an excuse??? :) This post is a recap of Saturday the 4th... the Block Party!

Note: After saving pictures for this post... I realized I had a lot more than I thought I did!! Sorry for the picture overload!! :)

My dear wonderful mother and her spread of food!

Sign in/supply table - lots of white yarn, a few of the scissors from our scissors bouquet, name tags, a laptop for totals, and door prizes.

The "weaving in ends table"! A lot of people had given us blocks with the ends not woven in thinking we would use them to sew the blocks together. Not the case. :) Soo they wonderful ladies spent a good chunk of the day weaving in all those ends.

Just a note for anyone thinking about making blocks for us... PLEASE weave in your ends! :)

Blocks, blocks, and more BLOCKS!!! We had a few blankets laid out before I took these pictures so this isn't all of the ones we brought.

A bunch of the other items we collected like blankets, scarves, hats, booties, baby sweaters and toys.

My little brother Isaac (who has been a TREMENDOUS help and time save throughout this project but more on the in another post!), "Aunt" Kathy, and Mrs Diane P

Sadie K, with my BFF Rachel sitting on the side of her with a weird look on her face that she would kill me for posting here... hehehe! She attacked me for the camera to delete it, but didn't succeed, and now I have black mail! ;D

From left to right - Ms. Nancy H, Mrs. Diane P, Mae and Corrin K, and "Aunt" Kathy

Mrs. Mae, and Corrin K. Corrin is 18 and has Down syndrome like my brothers. She was a huge help and did a great job with her sewing. We are so thankful she came to help sew together blankets!

It was saddening for me to think about.. she is helping to sew together blankets for people with Down syndrome or other special needs, but unlike her, they were born in a culture where instead of people seeing their potential, they are shunned and looked down upon because of being a little extra special. Hence the reason they are sent to orphanages right away and later moved to institutions. So sad. :(

The blanket the weaving in ends table laid out and sewed when they were done with the ends.

My sister Rebekah sewing, with big Rebekah who taught her

The Rebekah's!

Left to right - Sadie K, my sister Anna, Makayla R, and Emily F

Mrs Bridget F, and Ms. Bernie L! These two ladies saw our flyers around town/our article in the newspaper and decided to come help! Along with Mrs. Patsy O (not in any pics), they finished two blankets and put a border around one of them. I later got a finished blankets with squares Mrs. Bridget F made!

Ms. Nancy H (above) also came from seeing our article/flyer, and a lady who also saw them stopped by and dropped off 50 blocks! We are soo thankful for the new help!!

Mrs. Lisa G sewing. She is "big" Rachel and "big" Rebekah's mom. :)

Anita/Me-mom/Nana F and Mrs. Edna Mae S

A blanket Sadie K laid out.... There is supposed to be a flower in the middle - the yellowish orange block is the middle of the flower, the greenish blue around it is the petals, the dark green going in a diagonal down is the stem, and the light greens to the side of it the the leaves... do you see it?? ;)

So ya! The pictures pretty much tell the story of the day! It was a great day, we had about 25 people there helping at one time or another, and got a lot done. Of course I was exhausted at the end of the day, but that's to be expected! :)

And again... a HUGE THANK YOU to EVERYONE who HELPED!!! We could NOT have done it without you!!

Posts coming soon are preparations for the second Block Party of the year which was this past Sat, the second Block Party (of this year), a post about Isaac, and a few other things. And once we get the blankets done (nope still not done), totals and pics of the finished ones! :)

Another Block Party THIS SATURDAY!

2012-02-08T16:37:00.000-06:00

To help sew together the insane amount of blocks we have left, we are having another Block Party this Saturday! This time it will be at our house, and it will be from 9-sometime in the afternoon (come and go). A light lunch will be served, and we really would love your help!!

We only have about half of the approx. 1800 (yes, the number went up since this post!) blocks sewn together, and are going to try and ship out the blankets to Ukraine by the end of this month!! I can't stress enough that even if you don't knit or crochet, we can still use your help!! Everyone can help sew blocks together!!

So if you are local, we would love to see you Saturday for your help with this amazing project! Please email me for more info - forhisgloryhandiwork (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thank you!

Block Party 2012 Report #2

2012-02-06T16:19:00.000-06:00

I had fully intended to get this post up BEFORE the Block Party last Sat, but things got a little crazy last week. I tried to post it yesterday afternoon, but an all afternoon nap (like from 11:30am to 5:30pm!!) was far more important! :) Here are some Block Part preparations that have taken place since the last Block Party Report - You can find Report #1 for this year here.

I don't think I ever posted about it here, but in August, my friend Rachel and I spent a week at my grandma's house, and spent a lot of time sewing together blankets. Here are some pictures! :)

All the blocks... sorted out in the basement!

First one laid out! This is a bigger one than the normal 6x6 or 7x5 we make and will fit a twin sized bed. We tried to make a lot more of these this year with all the blocks we have.

First one, sewn together!

Our Mexican blanket! :) We had a lot of fun laying this WILD one out, and I think it's both of our favorites, ever! And we didn't use white to sew this one together, we used ORANGE! :)

Our Mexican one, finished! Sorry for the bad picture...

A baby one, finished!

Another one, laid out

And finished!

Some of the finished ones! It felt so good to have soo many done in August!

These have nothing to do with the Block Party, but they are headbands we made that week and donated to the local hospital.

Our lousy attempts at taking pictures of one we had laid out in the back of the van for the 4 hour trip home.

Rachel has this one at her house, and just finished the other day, so pictures of it coming when I post pictures of all the other finished ones! :)

And here are some pictures from last week taken in Block Central. :)

Anna (my 9 yo sister) making her first block... ever!

Isaac (my 7 yo brother) and his stack of 100 blocks that he made HIMSELF! His crocheting is another post in itself...

What do you think my family does for fun?? Crochet blocks and tackle piles of blocks of course!! :D

Weaving in ends, putting borders on blocks that were too small, making more blocks, all happening at Block Party Central! :)

My BFF Rachel came over on Friday night to help us get ready, and we both went shopping with mom.

We got this HUGE pot of beans, and a whole bunch of other yummy food.

We were both making blocks (actually I was putting a border on a blanket) on the way there and back, and on the way home mom and I hear a "Ut-oh... ooooppss!" from the other side of the car. Rachel holds up this -

She says it was dark and we were talking so she wasn't paying attention and it got to big. :) I believed her, but I still found it very amusing. Of course I wouldn't let her rip it out because I had to blog it! hehe what a mean friend I am!

Her loooonnnnnggg block compared to one that's the right size. :) It looked worse in real life than it does in the pictures.

The bouquet of scissors, taken after the ~~mass collecting of scissors~~ raid in search for scissors! :)

I think that's it for before the Block Party! The next will be off the Block Party, but I unfortunately, I forgot to take lots of pictures!

Block Party a Success!

2012-02-04T22:02:00.001-06:00

The Block Party today was a great success! I'll have to admit, there weren't as many people there as I had hoped, and we only have about half of the over 1500 (YES, FIFTEEN HUNDRED!!! NO JOKE!) blocks sewn together, but it went great! We had about 25 people there, and everyone worked really hard!

I'll be posting more over the next few days, but I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED!!!!

Here are a few pictures with no descriptions, in no particular order! :)

In the News!!!

2012-01-25T21:05:00.001-06:00

Our local news was so kind as to do an article on the block Party for us! :)

Thanks soo much Becky for doing that!!! :)

I can't believe the Block Party is only a week and a half away!! Yikes! I am about as close to being ready as I was a month from the Block Party last year, so I better get going!!! :) Hope to see a lot of you there, and I promise I will do a better job of updating about it this year!

She's got the slouchy hat mastered...

2012-01-17T20:31:00.003-06:00

I tell ya.... How is a 4 year old better at wearing a slouchy hat than me??

Ruby has slouchy hat wearing mastered, unlike me! The thing is, she is wearing a baby cocoon, kinda like this one...

NOT a hat! :) But she's still adorable!

Maybe that's why she looks better in them, because she's cuter! ♥

Block Party 2012 Info!!!!

2012-01-13T13:22:00.000-06:00

Introducing the 3rd Annual BLOCK PARTY!

I hope to see you there! Email me if you have any questions or to RSVP - forhisgloryhandiwork (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank you!

To kick off the new year...

2012-01-01T22:27:00.001-06:00

To kick off the new year, I made a slouchy hat! I loved the pattern from Julie at Gleeful Things, and definitively want to make it again! Using a big hook, and ultra bulky yarn, it worked up FAST!

Problem is… I don’t know if the slouchy hat thing is really my style??? I was having a bit of trouble getting it on the right way. Or perhaps I was having to much fun with the webcam. Either way, mom walked in on me and straightened me out. Phooey! And there is a reason I am not posting all of the pictures I took! LOL

My New Years Resolution for this blog is: to post more frequently! Because I took I break from my other blog for a while, I am doing better, but let's see if I can keep that up! :)

Happy New Year!!

I'm addicted!

2011-12-31T14:54:00.001-06:00

Recently, I discovered Ravelry.... and I am already addicted!! It such and easy way to connect with other crocheters and knitters, and well as keep track of your projects, yarn, and what size hooks you have. Plus find hundreds of patterns and get thousands of ideas from others for projects to make!

If you are a crafter and haven't already joined, I encourage you to!

http://www.ravelry.com/

And after you have joined, or if you already have account, find me and friend me! My username is 'horsearoni'! Can't wait to hear from you!

Christmas Presents 2011

2011-12-29T17:18:00.000-06:00

Here are some Christmas presents I made and gave this year! I may post more pics in another post of more presents! :)

(Pattern from Sock Monkey Kook)

Elijah's Sock Monkey Hat (no, it doesn't have braids, I ran out of time!)

Isaac's Angry Bird Hat!

He loves it! He wears it all the time and I still can't look at him without cracking up! :)

Rebekah with her tutu. I didn't make the tutu's though.... my friend Jaclyn did.

Rachel in her tutu! She won the award for how many of your presents can you wear!

Anna with her 18" wearing the swimsuit I made and a doll tutu

And poor Matthew got another nose warmer! :) This one is for when he skis (since blaze orange isn't meant for the ski hill) and is redesigned. And I wrote down the pattern this time! Still didn't figure out how to make that nose flap...

What did you make for Christmas presents this year??

End of the Brown Homespun Saga!

2011-12-23T23:15:00.001-06:00

Yay!!! Last update! :) Let's see, I last updated on Tuesday after I have given up on trying to get the brown yarn locally. The tracking site has said it was going to the post office. So my mom went to the post office on Tuesday afternoon (around 4pm) and it wasn't there. The tracker updated later Tuesday night and said it had gotten to the post office at noon. NO it didn't because it wasn't there! Whatever.

On Wednesday morning, I had a lookout posted constantly to watch for the mailman. Of course, of all days, he was 45 minutes later then usual. :p I about tackled him when he finally came, and thankfully, he had that beloved package!!! :) Wanna see how happy I was to get that yarn???

Picture does not even do it's justice! LOL

I can't even explain the feeling I had when I had the brown Earth homespun that I had stressed so much over going through my hands! It was AMAZING!!! LOL

Yesterday, with the help of my dear friend Rachel, I finished the hats, and Rachel (and her family) dropped them off at the lady's house. Oh, it felt soo good when that order left the house!

Great ending, right? HA! The lady who ordered them emails me last night after she gets them. She loves them, except the football hat, which I had made teenage to adult size was supposed to be for a 1 yr old. OOPS!!! Guess I need to double check what I write down with the person who ordered from now on....

And THANK GOODNESS I had enough brown homespun left to make that one too!! LOL I made most of it last night, and put the finishing touches (like straps, stitches, and pompom) on this morning. Unfortunately, because of my lack of sleep I was a bit clumsy this morning and while cutting the pompom ~~gashed~~ cut my left pointer finger. :p

But she stopped by and got it this morning, and I can officially say that order is DONE!!! Here are pictures!!

Two of the girl pink and brown Owl hats

1 matching doll Owl hat

The wrong size football hat

The right size football hat

And a bigger size of this Owl hat

She did say she will probably be ordering more though, so to be on the safe side, I have 5 skeins on "Earth" homespun in my online Joann's shopping cart! :D

I mention this too... while I have not had nightmares about this yet, Rachel has!! :) If my memory serves me correctly, she was looking for a brown verigated homespun with more colors into it like this....

but, all the store had was "Earth". I wanna call that store!!! :D

Correction: She was looking for "Earth", but all the store had was that verigated stuff. Maybe I don't want to call that one.... ;)

Update on the Brown Homespun Saga

2011-12-20T17:26:00.001-06:00

So it didn't come today like I had hoped. It's still departing that town according to the tracker. :p The lady who ordered emailed today and wants them tomorrow.So I called some more stores in a wider radius to see if we could go get some tonight, seeing as there's no guaranteed we will get it tomorrow.

Store #4 - "Nope, don't have any of that color."

Store #5 (another Walmart) - Nope, don't connect me to the Cashiers department, the craft department! ..... "Nope, we don't carry that color."

Store #6 - Get the answering machine... ??? Didn't bother leaving a message!

Store #7 - Have Homespun.... Listened to Frosty the snowman for 3 min waiting for them to check. I finally talk to a lady who says the guy who answered the phone told her it was brown, not "Earth". Wait another few minutes, couldn't make out the song they were playing. Nope, she can't find any.

Store #6 (again.. called back) - "No, we do not carry that color."

By this point I'm getting really really mad! How can SEVEN stores around here NOT have or NOT carry that color?!?!? Still, I'm managing to (barely) keep my cool when they tell me no.

Store #8 - No Frosty while I waited. And no, no earth. ARGGGGGG!!!

Store #9 (Walmart, not gonna say more.) - Doesn't think they have any but looked anyways.... while waiting I was transferred to Toys!!! So the toys lady goes and checks.... While waiting for her the craft lady picks up again and says they don't.... X(

Walmart (several different locations), Joann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Hancock Fabrics... any other ideas???

Store #10 - Mom called one of her friends who gave us the name of a shop.... I looked them up, they are open until 5. It's 5:14. :p Googled 'yarn shop *sh**sh'....

Store #11 - Don't carry homespun.

Store #12 - Got the answering machine... only open till 4:30.

Store #13 - Don't carry homespun. Didn't figure any of these would, they are nicer yarn stores.

Hmph!

I GIVE UP!!!!!!

And can someone tell me why guys keep answering the phone at the Craft Stores, and I get girls at Walmart????

Boy, am I getting good at calling stores!

And yes go ahead and laugh at me! :)

To be continued...

The Brown Homespun Saga....

2011-12-19T20:37:00.002-06:00

Homespun is one of my favorite yarns to use, and I use it for almost ALL of my hats. It's soft, works up fast, looks nice, and has a good color selection.

I recently got an order for several brown and pink owl hats, and a football hat - all which need the brown homespun called "Earth".

"Earth"

So I ordered several skeins of it because we weren't going to be getting to Joann's anytime soon. We placed another order a day or two after with some other things that were out of stock the first time and some more yarn for sock monkey hats. The first one (with the brown homespun) shipped, and a day later the second one did. We got the second one of Friday, and haven't seen the first one yet. It's stuck in a town 2 hours away, and won't be here till Wednesday.

Fine, except there's a problem. I need to have the hats with the brown homespun DONE by Thursday. AND another one with the pink that's also in that box. By Thursday. (The brown hats are a local order, so it doesn't have to be shipped, and the pink one doesn't have to get there until the end of the month.) I can't get 5 hats done in less then 24 hours.

So we started calling around to different local stores today to see if they had any Lionbrand Homespun in brown called "Earth", and the pink color so I could get a head start before the Joann's order came.

Store #1 - "Yes, we have homespun. Let me check on those colors." ....... "We have 5 of the pink, but no brown."

Store #2 - Us: "Do you have any Lionbrand Homepun yarn in brown?"

Craft Department person (this is at Walmart): "We don't carry Lionbrand."

Us: "Lionbrand is the brand, the yarn is called Homespun."

Craft Department person: "Oh we have Homespun!"

Us: "Yes, we know you do. Do you have any in a brown called "Earth"?

Craft Department person: "Let me check." ...................

Around this time my sisters (2 and 5 years old, both very opinionated) start fighting over a cup and come in screaming, then we somehow lost the person at the store. They probably hung up. :)

So we have Dad stop by Store #2 after work and he can't find that color, but there are other browns that are more of verigated. Nope, can't use that. And nope, can't use Red Heart. I had him get some other yarn I needed instead. He does a very good job with my yarn shopping through!! :) He then says he has to go get something in a different city. Ok, let me try calling a store there...

Store #3 - The lady who answers the phone thinks they have Homespun, she puts me through to that department. The lady who I then talk to can tell me off the top of her head they don't carry "Earth". Hmph, guess I wasn't the first to ask.

Moral of the Story: Always keep extra "Earth" homespun in stock.

Oh yay! Just checked.... the Joann's order finally left that city. Hope it gets here tomorrow! :)

Oh by the way, I'm gonna apply for a job at Store #2. Their yarn department is VERY unorganized, and can use a lot of work. :) That's in my spare time, ya know. :p

Shark Pencil Holder Pattern

2011-12-15T10:30:00.000-06:00

I got an order for a shark pencil holder, and had to get really creative in figuring out to make it. I figure I will share the pattern here, mostly for my own benefit, but feel free to use it yourself! :)

Shark Pencil Holder Pattern

You are welcome to items made form this pattern, but please do not sell or redistribute the pattern. You are welcome to link back here though!

Materials:

H hook

Stitch marker and needle

Grey acrylic yarn (approx. 4-5 oz.)

A can or plastic jar to use as base - any size, you will make it to fit your can

2 googley eyes

3-4 white pipe cleaners

Hot glue

Body-

Ch 2

Round 1: 6 sc in 2nd chain from hook, place st marker in last st. You will be working in continuous rounds so do not join. Remember to move st marker to last st at end of every round.

Round 2: 2 sc in each st around

Round 3: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st - repeat around.

Round 4: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 2 sts - repeat around

Round 5: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 3 sts - repeat around
Round 6: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 4 sts - repeat around

Round 7: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 5 sts - repeat around

Repeat in pattern established until wide enough to cover bottom of can. After wide enough, sc in each st around for every round until just under 1/2 inch from top of can. Sc dec on last few rounds if can curves in and is necessary. Cover should fit tightly around can. Note: if you decreased at end, last few rows might have to worked while cover is on can. This is difficult to do, but it might be necessary.

Last round: hdc in first stitch, dc in every stitch around, hdc in first hdc, sl st into next st, fasten off.

Top fin (dorsal fin):

Ch 2

Round 1: 4 sc in 2nd chain from hook, place st marker in last st. You will be working in continuous rounds so do not join. Remember to move st marker to last st at end of every round. (4 st)

Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (8 st)

Round 3: 1 sc in each st around

Round 4: 2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in each of next 2 st, 2 sc in next st - repeat once more (12 sc)

Round 5: 1 sc in each st around

Round 6: 2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in each of next 4 st, 2 sc in next st - repeat once more (16 sc)

Round 7: 1 sc in each st around

Round 8: 2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in each of next 6 st, 2 sc in next st - repeat once more (20 sc)

Round 9: 1 sc in each st around

Round 10: 2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in each of next 8 st, 2 sc in next st - repeat once more (24 sc)

Round 11: 1 sc in each st around

Round 12: 2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in each of next 10 st, 2 sc in next st - repeat once more (28 sc)

Round 13: 1 sc in each st around. Fasten off, leaving 12 in tail.

Bottom fins: (MAKE 2)

Round 1: 4 sc in 2nd chain from hook, place st marker in last st. You will be working in continuous rounds so do not join. Remember to move st marker to last st at end of every round. (4 st)

Round 2: 2 sc in each st around (8 st)

Round 3: 1 sc in each st around

Round 4: 2 sc in first/next st, 1 sc in each of next 3 st - repeat once more (10 st)

Round 5-7: 1 sc in each st around

Round 8-9: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in each of the rest of the st around (14 st on row 9) Fasten off leaving 6 inch tail.

Assembly:

Thread tail from top fin into needle, and whip stitch together open edge. Position fin on cup in accordance with the picture below placing the sewn edge up so it faces towards top of cup. Then sew it onto cover.
Position bottom fins onto shark according to picture or however you like, and sew them onto the cover with the their tails you left long.
Place cover onto can if it's not already. Hot glue on eyes.
Bend white pipe cleaners into a zigzag the size of teeth. Pinch all the ends on one side so they are moth teeth like.
Pull cover down if possible, and hot glue teeth around top of can, stretching them a little, depending on how close together you folded them. Be careful not to burn your fingers as hot glue tends to be hot!! ;) when glue is hard, put glue around bottom edge of teeth and just that on the can, stretch the cover over the teeth a little bit and glue it in place. Note: you may want to put teeth on before placing cover on can.
Weave in all loose ends and you are done!!

Abbreviations used:

ch: chain

dc: double crochet

dec: decrease

hdc: half double crochet

sc: single crochet

sl st: slip stitch

st: stitch

What I've been up to!

2011-12-13T10:21:00.000-06:00

Sock Monkey Hat!

(Pattern from Sock Monkey Kook)

LOTS of Owl Hats!

Shark Pencil Holder! (Pattern coming soon!)

....and that's what has kept me from blogging! :)

Ha! A Picture! :)

2011-12-04T21:43:00.001-06:00

I finally got a picture from Matthew! :) (See my last post!) He did indeed wear it, and said it worked pretty well, I just might want to think about adding a flap so the wearer can blow their nose... Any suggestions anyone on how to do that?? ;)

He cracks me up!

Happy Hunting!

2011-11-19T09:00:00.000-06:00

I have this on auto-post because right about the time this will post, I'll be freezing my behind off out in the woods!! :)

On Wednesday night at I got an order. A very unique order, and I don't think it was actually serious but I made it anyway! :)

Any guesses what it is???

A nose and cheek warmer of course!!! hehehe It cracks me me up!

So today, Matthew stopped by and picked it up....

Sorry for the REALLY blurry picture, I realized after he left that my camera was on macro lens... opps! Maybe he'll take a picture of himself wearing it in the woods for me... I'll be surprised if he even wears it though! ;)

Happy Hunting everyone!

Hahahaha!

2011-10-30T13:38:00.001-05:00

Saw these on a blog yesterday, and just had to share!!!! Wayyyy to FUNNY!

Yes, these are crocheted shorts, and no I don't think I'm gonna bother making them for my dad. He wouldn't wear them! Thanks so much for sharing Mrs G!!

Ok, now off to teach a crocheting lesson! :) Can't wait!

Craft Sale!

2011-10-25T15:15:00.003-05:00

**Repost from Matthew 18:14**

I had a Craft Sale this Saturday morning at our local Farmer's Market to help raise money to bring Logan and Lilly home! It was a beautiful day (compared to the last 3 weeks which were cold, windy, and nasty!!), and I'd say we had a great turn out! What I thought would go quick didn't, but a lot of things went that I didn't think would.

Practice set up in the garage. SOO glad we did this!!

Me and my tent in the morning, shortly before it started.

French Boards!

Sorry, you don't get to see the pic of his family!!! You shoulda come if you wanna know who they are! :) My friend Jaclyn also sent me some bows to sell for Logan, which was VERY generous of her, considering she is trying to fund her own adoption. If you can, please go help her out!!! THANK YOU SOO MUCH JACLYN!!!!

She also sent me tutu headbands, and tutus! Sorry the tutu thing is backwards in this pic.

And it's backwards in this one too! After awhile the sun came out and we took the cover off the tent and left the frame up. Not only for warmth, but for more exposure. And it worked! The sales seemed to pick up and we had more interest after that! Standing by the table is Dottie, who came to sit with me while my mom watched the little ones at my bro's football game. Thanks soo much Dottie!!!!

Happy Customer! :)

This time I FINALLY remembered to take picture of my table after I set it up at on the morning, and before I took it down!

Sorry, you still don't get to see who they are! :)

THANK YOU SOO MUCH to EVERYONE who came out!! And a BIG thank you to my amazing parents!!!! They have both been such as help with tents, my sign, tables, set up, and staying up late to get projects done! Couldn't have done it with out them!

So I'm sure you all want to know total's, eh? Logan is almost $40 closer to being home, and Lilly is almost $80 closer to finding a family!! God is GOOD! Oh soo good! And Logan and Lilly say THANK YOU!!

Prevost Benefit!

2011-10-10T09:39:00.000-05:00

This is a repost from my other blog for those of you who read that! :)

Remember this sweet family?

Remember my Bob the Builder days when I made the French Boards with Rachel?

Well yesterday was their benefit to bring home their sweet boy Caleb! ♥ Rachel and I have been very busy making things for it, and it was a HUGE success!!! There was a Craft and Bake Sale from 10-4, and a Spaghetti Dinner from 5-8. We were there all day (12 hours I think!) and we had a blast helping to bring that boy home!

Our table before we set up! :)

After we set up! :)

Rachel and I

Rebekah and Gary! :D

Lil' Miss Spaghetti face!! ♥

I think we sold more things yesterday than we EVER have at a craft sale!!! We kept track and I think we at Handiwork for Caleb, sold a total of $240!! Praise God!!! Over 1/2 of things, sold and we are going to REALLY busy the next two weeks making things for our next craft sale on Oct 22nd!! :)

But the BEST news is.... the Craft Sale and Dinner combined raised over $6,000!!!! PRAISE JESUS!!!!! God is moving mountains to get this peanut home! And his family is hoping to travel as soon as January!! YAY!

(♥Everything that didn't sell is still listed on Handiwork for Lilly!!! I spent quite some time today marking things as sold! Please go shop!♥)

My Crocheting Story Part 2

2011-09-26T22:25:00.001-05:00

Since I posted Part 1 of my crocheting story last year, I figured I should post part two this year that I typed up to put in my Record book (explanation in Part 1). I love doing this to see where I was a year ago, and how far I have come in a year!

-----------------------------------------------------

My Crocheting Story

My favorite hobby has been the same for several years. Thathobby – crocheting has taken me beyond my wildest dreams.

If you read my Crocheting Story last year you would haveheard all about the first year of the Block Party, how that birthed my missiontrip to Ukraine, and about the beginnings of the adoption of my little brotherElijah. As well as how I was selling items to bring him home. I’m going toleave off from there and tell you about this past year.

After an amazing benefit from our church raised all themoney we needed to bring Elijah home, I decided to change my blog to Handiworkfor Tori to raise money for another little girl who needed a family. After shegot fully funded and found a family I changed my blog to Handiwork for Anastasia,but then Tori’s family decided to adopt her too! After that I went throughHandiwork for Sergey, Handiwork for Eddie, Handiwork for Noah, Handiwork forJonathan (my other new little brother), and Handiwork for Lilly, the current child.

My friend Rachel has also been helping me crochet things tosell since Handiwork for Jonathan. We sell most of our items on our blog – www.handiworkforelijah.blogspot.com,but we also do some craft sales.

Above is our business card, with Elijah at the top right andgoing clockwise to the bottom right and across are all the children we havefeatured – Tori, Anastasia, Sergey, Eddie, Noah, Jonathan, and Lilly on the topleft. I’m so grateful that God has given me the gift to crochet soI can help these precious children in this way!!

Also thanks to the hobby of crocheting, this past year, Iorganized, with Rachel and my mother’s help, the second annual Block Party thispast February. An explanation of the Block Party – I ask a bunch of knittersand crocheters to make 6 inch squares or blocks. Then on a Saturday morning, weget together and sew them together into blankets which we send over to Ukraine.In 2010, the first year, we had 308 blocks. This past year, my goal was todouble that, and double we did!! We had a grand total of 659 blocks!!! The 308blocks of last year made 8 blankets and 2 scarves; and the 659 of this yearmade about 18 blankets! A group of quilters also made 20 more quilts, out offabric, not yarn. In addition to that, we had lots of scarves, slippers, hats,and other items of the sort donated too!

For this coming madeabout 18 blankets! A group of quilters also made 20 more quilts, out of fabric,not yarn. In addition to that, we had lots of scarves, slippers, hats, andother items of the sort donated too!

For this coming year, the Third Annual block Party, my goalis 1000 blocks. I thought this goal was crazy at first! But hey, the BlockParty isn’t till February, and we are currently just over 75% of our goal!!!Yep, we are just over 750 blocks!! Crazy? I think so!! I can’t wait to see theresults of this year’s party and the follow year! J Here are picture’s from thispast year’s party –

One of the finished quilts

Finished Blankets -

French Boards!

2011-09-05T19:27:00.000-05:00

If you follow my other blog - Matthew 18:14, sorry that most of this post is a repeat of my last post there!

In my last post I posted about benefits and craft sales. Well this post is some things my friend Rachel and I made for the upcoming benefit! This benefit will be a Spaghetti dinner on a Sat night, with a craft sale that morning. My newest love is RIBBON! :) (Does a hammer count? If so, that is my most loved newest love.. :)) So I really had fun with this project! One of the projects the mission board is doing for the Craft Sale is French Memo Boards. If you don't know what they are, they are boards with ribbons and buttons that you can stick pictures in, kinda like this one (or keep reading for pictures). My friend Rachel and I, both being part of the missions committee, finished up this project yesterday and this morning. Here are pictures of us making them and the finished project-

I'm Bob the Builder aka Depressed Train Conductor! :D

You don't want to get in our way.. We have our weapons!

Our mess shortly after we finished this morning.

All of them.. DONE!

One of my favs... Micky Mouse with black and white!

Another fav!

Like our model picture in the fish one? :)

And though I have a blister from the staple gun, learned that my cat wears flip flops (don't bother asking), and earned several new nicknames... it's all worth it because we know that we were a part of bring a special boy home!

Benefits and Craft Sales

2011-08-30T15:22:00.000-05:00

There are several families adopting in our church/community, and our church plans benefits as fundraisers, because adoption isn't cheap. They did one for us when we adopted Elijah, and I had a table there selling my stuff. Recently they had one for this handsome little boy - Carter!

The top picture at the beginning of this post is Rachel and I at our table at Carter's benefit. Whenever they plan a benefit, it is a given that Rachel (now my partner in crime on Handiwork for Lilly) and I will have a craft table selling out things. Nope, they don't even ask us! :) Not that we mind! Coming up in October there is another benefit for another family adopting a little boy from China - the Prevost family! Because of the rules of the country, they can't share his picture online, but boy is he a cutie!

We also have a craft sale (possibly) coming up in September/October at our local farmer's market! The site says that there are more than 2500 visitor per week... so hopefully we'll sell a lot of stuff since we haven't been doing very well on our blog!

Stay tuned for Block Party Reports, and other craft projects Rachel and I did when we were at grandma's house last week!

Showing Day - Part 3 - Sewing

2011-08-12T10:33:00.000-05:00

This is my 6th (maybe 7th?) year in sewing, I definitively didn't get everything I wanted to done, but I am with what I did. :)

Judging my blouse and skirt

I got a 1st and Selected for State Fair!!

Pillowcase - 1st

Apron! Jake and Ashley, you might recognize the fabric from this and the pillowcase above! :)

Showing Day - Part 2 - Knitting

2011-08-10T12:51:00.000-05:00

My knitting isn't as quite as long as my crocheting post... :)

Here's what I made for knitting -

Yep, I know I made soo much! :) But, if you want to get this scarf for your little girl, you can go here, buy it, AND help bring a sweet little girl named Lilly home! :)

Showing Day - Part 1 - Crocheting

2011-08-09T21:50:00.000-05:00

Since I never even got my crocheting posted last year, I figure that's what I should start with. :) Last Monday, I brought all of my projects in except Foods, which is on Tuesday. I didn't bring as much crocheting in as I wanted, and didn't get my big project done, but next year we'll be a big year. :)

Judging my Octopus!! :) (See previous posts!)

Slippers!

Hat! I got a red on it because I had a knotted end sticking out, and the flower should have been bigger around the bottom.

Scarf! In these two pic the snow is supposed to be moving, and it was when I first tried, but now it's not so I don't know whats wrong. :)

And my "big" item this year - Dish Cloths! I got Best of Show on them, but I can't really brag that much (not that I would!) because there was one other girl in advanced crocheting, and she also got a Best of Show (because there was nothing good enough in Beg Knitting), and Selected for State, and Merit Award. :) Oh well, next year I'll beat her!! But the judge really liked how uniform these are (thanks to Mom's blocking! :)) and how the patterns coordinated.

Stay tuned for Knitting, Sewing, Foods, and Youth Leadership!

Wanna know what it is??

2011-08-06T13:40:00.002-05:00

I finally found my card, so I can post picture of what that thing was I posted about here. :)

Good guess Aubrey, but no, it's not a hat.

It is...

AN OCTOPUS PENCIL HOLDER!! :)

To see the other post about this, please go here! :)

If you want to have this cute octopus sitting on your own desk, you can go to my other blog and buy it with all funds going to help Lilly find a family! Find it here!

I really, really wish..

2011-07-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

...That I could use copy and paste with knitting!

...That I would have more time before Fair to get things done.

...That this Fair thing would be over with.

...That I didn't have to tape my finger up (knitting bends it weird) so it's easier to type.

...And that I had time to blog about that thing in my last post!!

Any Guesses?

2011-07-26T22:18:00.000-05:00

I've been really quiet here lately. That's because the County Fair is the first week in August, and I've been really busy getting ready for that! :) I do have several things to post about... but I have a little game for you! Here is one of the Fair projects that's sitting on my lap right now, can you guess what its going to be?? And no one outside my family knows, not even Rachel who hears about everything I'm making.. :D

This is the first time that I've worked with any crazy yarn other than Homespun, and a little eyelash yarn for borders. It's definitively a pain, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Of course it would have been much harder two years ago! :)

And for the record, YES it is inside out. But that because all the things are sticking out the wrong side, and it looks cooler that way. And yes, it is driving me CRAZY, but that's the way its gonna have to be! I just hope the judge doesn't dock me for it...

C'mon, any guesses???

Rachel, what is that?

2011-06-04T11:32:00.000-05:00

We went to Joann Fabric's yesterday after visiting a friends house. My 19 month old sister, Rachel says quite a few words, including the names of everyone in our family, but you have to know what she's saying. We were in a isle full of yarn, looking for a certain color. Rachel was in the cart, and all of a sudden she points to some yarn and says "Ra-ra!". ("Ra-ra" is what she calls me) She said that every time I pointed to some yarn and asked what it was. Silly girl, she already associates me with yarn!! :) I google searched "yarn" this morning and video taped her doing it, hence the video below. Enjoy!

A Pet Peeve of Mine

2011-05-30T14:05:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't say that I have a lot of pet peeves, but I have a few... :) One of them that drives me absolutely nuts is when a picture is taken of something crocheted, and the item is upside down! For example, Ashley took pictures of some of my crocheted items to list on my other blog - Handiwork for Jonathan. She can't tell which is the right side and which is the wrong, so she took some of the wrong side.

The wrong side

But, since she is the best, she took pictures of both sides so I had one of the right side to list. :)

The right side

Even with this picture from my last post, I almost pulled these blocks back out and retook the picture because a few blocks were upside down.

Crazy, I know, because I'm the only one who can tell, but it still drives me nuts! :)

Blocks... aka Block Party 2012 Report #1

2011-05-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

So I have another post typed up that I am just waiting on a picture from someone for. And I promise pictures of the finished Block Party blankets are to come! But tonight, after receiving another large donation, I felt the need to post about blocks! :) Blocks that are for next February's Block Party, the one next year, and they are coming in by the dozens (literally!)!

The first year we did the Block Party we collected 309 blocks, which made 8 blankets and 2 scarves. That AMAZED me that it was possible. After all it started with a idea that popped into my head one night as I was trying to go to sleep. This past February was our 2nd Annual Block Party. My goal was to double our total from the first time, and double we did!!! :) Our final tally was 649 blocks!!! God is simply amazing, and that's all there is too it! :)

On February 5th (the Block Party this year), I had already made a goal for 2012! I haven't posted it yet, but now I feel pretty confident that with God's blessing we will make it! :) So, I'm praying we get 1000 blocks this coming year! Yep, no typo, 1000 six inch, knitted and crocheted blocks! And where do we stand right now? I am very happy to tell you that we have made 25%, or 1/4 of the goal!!!! With the last donation that my dad brought home from bible study tonight, we are at 250!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!! Last year at this time, I think I had about 20 blocks, and we have 8 more months to go yet this year! And the current total of 250 does not include my blocks that I have done, my brother's blocks (he has probably double what I have right now!), my friend Rachel's blocks that I don't have yet (I'm guessing about 25-30 there??), and many more people have told me they are 'cranking them out'!! God is Good!

So.. onto pictures of what we have so far and Thank yous!!

Thank you to a Mother (In-law?) of one of our friends at church for these wonderful 26 granny squares!!!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to Ms. R Vander Loop for these 33 knitted squares!!!

You may notice that on some of these, there are ends sticking out... If you are considering donating any blocks to the Block Party, please take a bit of time to weave in the ends! :)

A Big THANK YOU to Mrs. M S Quigley for these 8 knitted blocks! I even can't imagine how long they took with the size yarn and size needles she used! Thank you!

Every donation of blocks is extremely important to make the Block Party a success, but the big donations really help! A HUGE THANK YOU to Mrs. Foster for this lovely donation of 144 crocheted squares!! I look forward to seeing your husband, as there is always a surprise for me! :)

Thank you my dear friend Rachel for these 4 (one isn't in the picture) blocks! I LOVE the colors for some very special reasons! :)

I think this is my most favorite blanket of all the ones we have ever made! I LOVE the colors! Thank you SOO much Rachel for making this and sewing it together for me! :) Luv you!

I laid the blanket out to take a picture, and Ms. Rachel (the little one, not the one above :)), decided she needed to lay down on it. Right in the middle too! So I told her to smile, and this is the cheesy smile she gave me! The little ham! :)

One thing I know for sure: With the next donation, I'm going to need a new place to store all these blocks! My store house is overflowing! :)

Do you know?

2011-05-13T15:56:00.000-05:00

Do you know how much I hate blogs with bad blogger? They are one of my pet peeves, yet from the looks of this blog I am one. :) I guess it's more fun to read other people's blogs (I'm following over 50 other blogs..), than to stay caught up on my own blog. So here's my promise to be a better blogger! I'm sure I've lost all of my readers, so thank you soo much if you are reading this!!!

Before I get back to crocheting in my next post, I have a few announcements.
This little boy:

Is going to be my new little brother soon! :) Yep, we are going back to EE to adopt another sweet little boy. We are going to name him Jonathan, and he will be one in July. Our paperwork was submitted to his country's government today (YAY!!), so hopefully we will be traveling in June! :) Please follow along on my mom's blog - My God is Lord.

Other announcements include my other blogs. I started Matthew 18:14, so I didn't bore my crocheting readers on this blog with orphan advocacy posts. :) And my other blog where I sell my crocheted items to help bring orphans home - I changed it again, this time to Handiwork for Jonathan. My button:

I guess that's it for now. Until next time (which won't be long!!), have a great day!

Sarah

Block Party Report #4 - The Block Party!

2011-02-28T18:36:00.001-06:00

Three weeks ago Saturday was the Block Party. Guess it took me a while to get this post up! I kind of feel like I disappeared off the face of the the “bloggy” earth! :) The Block Party went very well, I am very, very happy with the amount of donations we received, but we could have used more helpers! I’ll hopefully get the totals up on the “collected so far” page at the top of my blog soon, but until then, I’ll tell you that we had about 650 blocks in total!!! Last year we had 309 blocks, and this year I wanted to double that! We should have about 20 - 25 blankets in total (including other ones donated like the ones here)! Plus, not only do we have blankets made out of yarn but we have blankets made out of fabric! (more about that in another post!) We had 16 ladies, two awesome guys (plus Isaac, more about him coming later), come and help us in total (not everyone could stay the whole time). And we had about 25 AMAZING people help us by donating their time, and skills to help this event be a success! I am absolutely AMAZED at the response I’ve had for this and I can’t thank all of you enough for your support in this outreach. There will be MANY, MANY adults and children in EE that will feel the love of Jesus though these blankets and other items. NOW… ONTO THE PICTURES!!!!

One of the blankets laid out and ready to go!

My mom and sister, Anna

All the blocks (that were unlaid out at the time I took this)!

Rachel G or "Big Rachel" sewing

Debbie G or "Auntie Debbie" sewing

Auntie Debbie and Anna

Mrs. Gloria S and Mrs. Barb F sewing

"Big Rebekah" or Rebekah G sewing

Mrs. Brenda M proudly show off the row she sewed by herself! :)

Mrs. Betty G sewing

Ashley sewing (you can visit Ash's blog here)

Jake (my youth group leader and Ashley's husband) showing his brother Ben and my brother Isaac how to sew

Yes I did get permission to post this... Jake's words were "We would be honored if you posted it on your blog...." :)

My sister Rebekah with the block she made (more on that later)

My sister Anna with my baby (16 months) sister Rachel

My brother Elijah

Having fun with Jake!

Lil' Rachel - "Are we ready to go yet?" (Not all of my siblings stayed the entire day. Anna did, but everyone else stopped in around lunch time with Dad.)

"I like it when you take pictures of me! Because I'm soo cute!"

No this isn't all we had for food, but I like this picture! :)

Awhile ago there was a follow up article in our local newspaper (front page :)) about our adoption. The lady who wrote up the article was kind enough to put a little bit in there about the Block Party and put my phone number in there for people who wanted to help so I still have people calling to ask how they can help. This year’s Block Party might be over but as long as I’m in charge there will always be a next time!!! And I know people (including myself) who have started making square for next year! My goal for next year is one thousand blocks… I’m believing in God that He will help get the word out about this and we will reach that goal! THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT!

God Bless,

Sarah

Just had to put this one in... My sister Rebekah looking through her water bottle :)

Block Party Today!

2011-02-05T19:54:00.000-06:00

The Block Party went great today! However, I can barely keep my eyes open and when I close them, all I can see now is blue sewing needles and hundreds of white balls of yarn... So, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to wait until tomorrow to post! :) Check back soon for updates!

Block Party Report #3

2011-02-02T15:42:00.000-06:00

Surprisingly, I'm not counting down the days until the Block Party, I guess there's to much else to think about than that. :) But, it is 3 days away and I am getting super excited and busy! I thought I would do a post about what I've collected so far. I also just updated the Block Party totals page at the tops of my blog (mind you I don't have any of mine or the ones I already have from Rachel in there!).

First, we have 24 beautiful crochet blocks from my blogger friend/pen pal on the other end of the US - Brianna. You can tell a lot of love and work went into these blocks! Please visit Brianna's blog here, where she posted about these blocks. Thank you Brianna!!!

Next we have two wonderful blocks from one of my "YouthGroupian" friends, Cortnie! She recently learned how to crochet (not from me), and was kind enough to make these blocks for us!! The yarn is Lion Brand Vanna's Choice and it's extremely soft. Thank you Cortnie!

Then we have a block from Ms. Rebekah! This is big Rebekah, not my younger sister, and her big sister is my friend Rachel! I had taught her crochet over a year ago, and Rachel recently retaught her. Thank you Rebekah for making this gorgeous block!

I don't have pictures of anymore blocks, but I do have pictures of two beautiful, gorgeous blankets from Mrs. Diane P who helped us last year. She is unable to come this year, but made two warm knitted blankets for us! They are extremely warm, soft, and they will bless two special little kids at Elijah's orphanage. Thank you Mrs. P!

Next we have pictures of two plarn bags made by Mr. Linc F from my church. He is the "Crochet Dude" of our church, and these bags are his trademark item! Thank you Linc! Max will get them to somebody who will put them to good use!

Then we have two warm soft AMAZING (heehee) pairs of slippers from Rachel (not little Rachel obviously!)! Thank you Rachel!

And last (and least) here is a hat I made out of my left yarn! Hopefully this will end up on a girl at the orphanage instead of a boy! :)

Fantasic February Challenge

2011-01-31T21:12:00.000-06:00

I had meant to get this up earlier in the month considering that tomorrow is the beginning of February, but things got kind of busy with school, and the Block Party. So I am taking a break from my squares (my fingers are aching!), to post this. :)

During the month of February, I am going to be making one slipper a day. At the end of the month, I'll have 28 slippers, or 14 pairs of slippers. Then I'm going to ship them over to Max in Ukraine so he can distribute them to handicapped adults (or children if I make smaller sizes). My friend Rachel has also taken up the challenge, and we can't wait to start tomorrow!

I challenge you to also accept! Even if you make one slipper every two days, that will still be 7 pairs to send to Max! At the end of the month you can ship them to me, and I will take care of shipping them to Max. I'll also post pictures of them on my blog. Please email (forhisgloryhandiwork (at) gmail (dot) com) me if you would like to help and accept the challenge.

Thank you for considering helping Max!

Stitched with Love...

2011-01-24T09:57:00.003-06:00

For two precious little girls...

Remeber Tori and Anastasiya?

Well, their new names are Reagan Faith and Carrington Ann, and their forever family is meeting them the end of this month! Below are pictures of the hats and scarfs I made for them.

My sister Rebekah (4 yo) with Tori's (5 yo) hat and scarf on

Rachel (1 yo) with Anastasiya's (3 yo) hat and scarf on

Rachel's Blog!

2011-01-16T17:15:00.000-06:00

No, my little sister Rachel doesn't have a blog yet...
But!

My friend Rachel does!

Please visit Rachel's blog and follow along here - Rachel's Orphan Blog. She is advocating for many of the orphans on Reece's Rainbow and loves to crochet just like me! Her first post included me, and her next one is going to be about the Block Party! She would LOVE new followers, and she would LOVE if you left her a comment! Please hop on over there and leave her a note!

One more thing... GO PACK GO! We can win the Super Bowl! WHOO!

Block Party Date Announced!!!

2011-01-16T16:59:00.000-06:00

The 2011 Block Party date is ANNOUNCED! Ok, they have been for awhile if you are reading the pages at the top of my blog... and if you haven't go check them out!

The Block Party date for 2010 is February 5th 2010! Below is a little information from the flier I made.

When: February 5th, 2011 at 9 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (or as long as you can stay)
Where: At W****c**** Christian Fellowship Church - Email me forhisgloryhandiwork (at) gmail (dot) com for directions and location
What: Everyone brings 6” crocheted or knitted squares, and we all sew them together and make blankets for an orphanage in Eastern Europe.
R.S.V.P.: Please R.S.V.P. to Sarah via email at forhisgloryhandiwork (at) gmail (dot) com, or by commenting here.
Bring: Finished 6” squares (any yarn can be used, it just needs to be machine washable), tapestry or yarn needles (please bring as many as you have). We are also going to be collecting anything warm that can be made out of yarn to wear (baby hats, hats, slippers, baby booties, scarves, etc.) Please have squares there by 9:15 a.m.

Join us for a day of fun, fellowship, and make some new friends! Snacks and punch will be served throughout the day. Lunch will also be provided.

Everything we collect and make will be sent over to a very poor orphanage in Eastern Europe. This is the same orphanage we recently adopted my little brother Elijah from, and all the children are tiny and undernourished. You could very well be saving a life by helping to make one of the blankets! If you would like to help, but you can’t make the date (or live too far away), please get your squares to me ahead of time so we can use them. Please email me for my address. If you have any questions, please contact me using the info above.

Oh and along with the Block Party theme, I have to confess (unfortunately) that I am a ~~big fat~~ loser... :) My friend, Rachel, was over yesterday, and we decided to have a contest... for who could make the most blocks between the time we dropped her off last night, and this morning. The loser would weave in the other's ends (we both hate weaving them in!). Well last night, I had to make an informative slide show for the Block Party for church today, and it took much longer than I planned, so it wasn't a fair contest. But still she won, even if it wasn't fair and square! I had 9 blocks and she had 13 blocks. So I have some ends to weave in!
I encourage you to have a contest with someone else to see who can get the most squares done in a short amount of time. It will get more blocks done that way, and its fun to have some competition to motivate you to work on it! If you don't have a crocheting buddy to do it with, email me! I would be happy to do it with you!

And speaking of Rachel, stay tuned for my next post...

Fun Crochet Toys

2011-01-10T16:56:00.000-06:00

I came across a couple crocheted toys today that are adorable!

Meet Bullseye from Toy Story...

And meet Yoda from Star Wars...

The awesome pattern for Bullseye can be found here, and the pattern for Yoda can be found here. I won't be making either of them anytime soon, but maybe someday! In the meantime, you can make them! Happy Crocheting!

Review of My 2010 Goals

2011-01-03T21:29:00.000-06:00

I just remembered/realized, thanks to an awesome friend!, that I posted my 2010 goals at the beginning of last year. I was just going through them, and I only knocked about 1/2 of them off of my list, but I have done so much more in the last year than I would have EVER imagined at the beginning of the year! Below is the list I posted last year, and the results.

Crochet Goals:
-Make an afghan - DONE!
-Learn the popcorn stitch - not done
-Learn the shell stitch - not done
-Make 50 baby hats for charity - not done
-Teach at least 3 people to crochet - DONE!
-Make a doily out of thread - not done
-Made at least 6 snowflakes out of thread - not done
-Buy less yarn and use more of what I have (Mom says that's a good goal :-)) - still working on it...

Knitting Goals:
-Learn how to purl - not done (Auntie Debbie - HELP!)
-Make a scarf - DONE!
-Make at least two baby hats for charity - one done
-Make another scarf - not done

Sewing Goals:
-Learn how my sewing machine was made and how it operates - not done
-Make a summer top and shorts - not done
-Design and make more of my own clothes - still working on it!
-Make a patchwork quilt - not done!
-Make fiesta skirt - DONE!

I guess I didn't even get half the things done, but that's okay! There is always this coming year, and look how much MORE I got done!

- Organizing and making things for the Block Party (8 blankets for the first Block Party last year and 6 already for this coming year!)
- Raising money for orphans - Elijah, Tori, Anastasiya, Sergey, and now Eddie!
- Made lots of things for those in EE (like slippers and hats)

This may not seem like a lot, only three things, but they weren't one dish each either. And I know that by doing that that I helped to bless many people.

Gifts

2010-12-29T20:00:00.000-06:00

"Every gift was given for a reason. We can't chose which ones we get, only what we do with them." How will you use your Christmas gifts to further the Kingdom of God this year?

Here are some of the gifts I got, and what I am going to do with them!

a Walmart gift card - to buy yarn to raise money for Sergey
tshirts - I requested tshirts that supported adoptions, and that's what I got! Part of the money used to purchase these shirts was donated to adopting families, and I will also use these shirts to advocate for the cause of the 147 million orphans around the world.
My little brother! Yes, I count him as a Christmas gift! He is the second best gift I received even if he is a little late! - I am going to love on him and give all the love he didn't get from us in the three years in the orphanage!
And the Best Gift of all - God's Son! Jesus came down to earth as a tiny baby on the first Christmas. He left all the splendor and glory in heaven and came down to a stinky old smelly stable to save us from eternal punishment in hell. For me, that is THE BEST GIFT I will ever get! He gave me the gift of life, so I am going to live me life for Him!

I love what one of my friends did - she didn't ask for any Christmas presents from her parents, but instead for money for an orphan on Reece's Rainbow. Now the hard part for her is choosing which one to donate to! :) Love you girl!

Remember that there are orphans who spent Christmas lying in a crib, with nothing for Christmas. Not even a family. They are just lying there, with no stimulation, in a room with lots of other cribs. No toys. No nothing. You can give them a present next year. The gift of a family. If you aren't their family, you can help their family bring them home. But, remember, time is running out for them. They soon will not be on earth anymore, they need YOUR help!

My God is Lord: Days of Elijah Day 26 - GOTCHA DAY!!!

2010-12-29T14:53:00.000-06:00

Monday was the day we looked forward to ever since we started this process back in July. It was the day my mom busted my little brother out of the orphanage gates, never to return again. Never. AND, in 31 hours hours (yes, I'm counting!), I will meet my little brother for the first time... WOW... 31 hours... I CAN NOT WAIT!! Check back Friday for pictures!

(Actually it is 30 hours, and 32 minutes, and 30 senconds... hee hee)

My God is Lord: Days of Elijah Day 26 - GOTCHA DAY!!!: "WOOHOO!!!!!! Elijah is OUT! Out of that orphange FOREVER and EVER and EVER! :-) PRAISE GOD for His absolute faithfulness a..."

Merry Christmas

2010-12-27T15:52:00.000-06:00

From our family (which now includes Elijah!) to yours!

Too Cute for Words

2010-12-24T21:16:00.000-06:00

Rachel - 13 1/2 months

Craft Sale Pictures!

2010-12-23T11:29:00.000-06:00

I forgot to include pictures with this post, so here they are! :)

This one was at the end of the day.

Craft Sale Saturday and Sweet Sergey

2010-12-23T11:12:00.000-06:00

I posted a couple Fridays ago, on the 3rd, about my Craft Sale on the 4th. The Craft Sale went well! I didn't sell as much as I had hoped, but that's ok! I was able to tell quite a few people about Reece's Rainbow and show off pictures of my new little brother! ;) My friend (not little sister!), Rachel, sat with me, and also brought the awesome headbands and a scarf to sell! Thanks Rachel! All of the things we sold were dish cloths, but I luckily I didn't sell the one I wanted to use as a Christmas present! ;) (I "hid" it under the other ones!) All of the money I raised from this craft sale went to Sweet Sergey.

Meet Sergey...

Sergey is a little angel boy who is at Elijah's orphanage, and he has stolen my heart. I am now raising money for him on my other blog - Handiwork for Sergey. Below is Sergey's information from Reece's Rainbow -

Sergey (9)

Boy, Born October 15, 2007

This little monkey has a whole host of medical complications, but he is so darling and will surely perish if he is not adopted. He will end up in an institution, bedridden for his very short life. Please consider Sergey!

From his medical records: secondary post-hemorrhagic obstructive internal hydrocephalus, spastic tetraparesis, convulsive disorder, mental disorder as a result of organic affection of brain, additional chord of the left heart ventricle, partial optic atrophy, congenital nystagmus, crossed eyes, delay of physical development

Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!

I have $5000 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

If you would like to make a donation to Sergey's account, please click here, and click donate. Any amount will help, even if it is just $5, Sergey will then be $5 closer to finding a family! Also please feel free to go to my blog and browse the items I have available. I don't have very much on there right now, but I have lots of things made which I will be listing over the next week. Sergey is close to being transferred and once transferred, he has a 85% chance of dying with in the first year he is living there! Please consider helping him, or get the word out about him using the share buttons below each post on my blog.

Thank you, and have a Merry Christmas with your family!
Don't forget that Jesus is the Reason for the Season! Keep Christ in Christmas!
Sarah

One Last Christmas - Matthew West

2010-12-23T10:22:00.000-06:00

This Christmas - Toby Mac

2010-12-22T13:32:00.000-06:00

Be sure to listen to or watch this awesome video! When one of the adoptive blogs I follow posted this (Thanks Melissa!), I was suprised I hadn't heard this song before. I knew that Toby Mac and his wife Amanda had adopted domesticly, twins in 2002, but I didn't know he had any songs about it! This is now one of my FAVORITE Toby Mac songs! :)

5 Cajuns and a Fundraiser: Sinking

2010-12-13T11:52:00.001-06:00

Please read this amazing post by an adoptive mommy...

5 Cajuns and a Fundraiser: Sinking: "For some reason tonight two things have been on my mind. Two things that have absolutely nothing to do with each other so forgive me w..."

Special Olympics Scarf Project 2011

2010-12-12T17:16:00.000-06:00

Although I will not have time to participate this year, I wanted to let you all know about the Special Olympic's Scarf Project 2011! I took the information below from the website, so please visit it here to find out more! Along with my new little brother having Down Syndrome, and our family has a special friend, Corrin, who also has Down Syndrome, and has participated in the Special Olympics before! People with Down Syndrome are not people to be afraid of - they are very SPECIAL people who just were blessed with an extra chromosome. It would really mean a lot to someone if you made a scarf for them to keep them warm!

What is the Scarf Project??
Handmade scarves donated as a result of the 2011 Special Olympics USA Scarf Project will be a symbol of unity, support, compassion and empowerment, as the Special Olympics athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters wear them with pride in knowing they have become part of the Special Olympics family.

The idea for a scarf project resulted from an opportunity to provide a gift of welcome for the athletes of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Boise, Idaho. A call went out for 5,000 Red Heart delft blue & white scarves, and by Games time nearly 60,000 scarves had arrived from every state in the U.S. and from 12 countries around the world. (watch the video)

Special Olympics Idaho, then, carried on the tradition with their own state scarf project in 2010, and again the knitting and crocheting communities opened their hearts and put their needles and hooks to work. Over 2,100 Red Heart cherry red and grey heather scarves arrived from 48 states in just five weeks for the Idaho State Winter Games, and the celebration of unity began as they were presented to the athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters during the Opening Ceremony – for all to wear throughout the Games.

Now in 2011, the Special Olympics USA Scarf Project is spreading its wings and going national! You can now choose any of the 33 participating Special Olympics Programs to support! Our goal is to give knitters and crocheters the power to select which Program they want to support and help create an unprecedented sense of unity, support and community for the athletes and the Special Olympics Movement as a whole.

For more information on official colors, deadlines and participating Special Olympics Programs, visit the Scarf Project Guidelines page, or please refer to Frequently Asked Questions.

You can also visit their Free Patterns Page. Please make sure you use the two colors they want you to use though - Red Heart Super Saver 886 Blue, and Red Heart Super Saver 512 Turqua! Deadlines will differ by state but I do know that there isn't much time left so go find your hooks and needles!

Thank you for considering to make a scarf or two or a hundred!! :)

Help Please??

2010-12-11T17:02:00.000-06:00

I need help from all the crocheters and knitters out there! My hands, especially during the winter when I am wearing warmer clothes, get sweaty, and that makes it hard to keep a good grip on my crochet hook or knitting needles. Normally I just wash my hands and hook/needle with soap, and that works pretty well. But, does anyone else have this problem?? And does anyone else have any good solutions or ideas to prevent it? I would appreciate your input, and hopefully you can help not just me, but other crocheting (and knitting) maniacs like me! :)

Block Party 2011 Report #2!

2010-12-10T17:17:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago, my friend Rachel and I got together and sewed together 2 blankets with the squares I have already received. We then layed out another one which she took home and sewed. A few days later I layed out another one, and she also sewed that up for us!! Thank you Rachel!!!! And great job!!!

P.S. You can see the first Block Party Report for 2011 here.

All the squares from my great aunt's friend before we started sewing.

The first one we layed out - all the short seems were sewn in this picture, I just has to finish up the long ones while Rachel started on the next blanket.

The second one we layed out, still in progress.

I can't exactly say I like this picture of me and Rachel... but it shows us with our work. :)

The last one I layed out for Rachel.

And... The finished product!

Here is the one we sewed together

Sorry bad picture (and yes, that is my foot...), but here is the other Rachel sewed! Good Job!

The other one we both sewed

PANEL PARTY!!!

Awhile ago someone from our 4-H club gave me these knitted panels, I have no idea what from, and told me to use them for whatever. There were six so I sewed them together to make blankets.

Sorry for the bad picture again - the brown in the bottom left hand corner is where I had to crochet ion the gap where there was no knitting. The loops were still hanging there when I got it, the needle was just pulled out, and that panel was shorter than the others.

The other blanket - All the panels were a really pretty design.

Thank you to - Dorothy for making all the squares!!!

Rachel for helping me make two blankets, and making two more!!!

Whoever donated the panels that I used for the block party!!!

These blankets went over to Elijah's orphanage with my mom, and all of the other ones will also go there!

My God is Lord: ONE LESS ORPHAN!!!

2010-12-10T12:30:00.000-06:00

I have a new little brother now!!! Please go visit my mom's blog for pictures!!! :) Today I became a big sister for the 5th time!! This doesn't even seem real that my parents are on the other side of the world and I have a new little brother! YEA!! SO happy!

My God is Lord: ONE LESS ORPHAN!!!: "We are extremely grateful to tell you that this beautiful boy... IS AN ORPHAN NO MORE!!! Introducing ELIJAH JOSEPH BIRSCHBACH Born Septe..."

Craft Sale Tomorrow!

2010-12-03T10:30:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, I have a craft sale that I will be selling my items at! It is from 9am to 1pm at the Municipal Building (same building as the library, across the street from the post office) in the town I live. I will have Christmas dish cloths, and lots of other dish cloths, along with other things I've made. And I will have these awesome headbands that my friend Rachel is making for me to help raise money for orphans! (I'm hoping I get one for Christmas... hint hint...) Please consider stopping by and helping one of the many orphans in the world find a family! This is the same craft sale that I did last year which I posted about here and here. Ok, now that I have this post done, off to make more dish cloths!!! :)

Awesome Pictures! :)

2010-11-25T22:34:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Toby Mac, Third Day, Michael W. Smith, Jason Grey, and Max Lucado in concert for the "Make a Difference Tour 2010". I went with some friends and stayed the night at their house. Thanks guys!!! I was looking forward to seeing Toby, and I wasn't disappointed! I had a great time and had lots of fun! I have been listening to a lot of Toby Mac music since (I love it!!!).

The other day I was watching/listening to a YouTube video with his song "I'm for You", and I saw these awesome pictures! Pictures of Toby with a CROCHETED hat!! ;) Below are the two best pictures I could find, unfortunately on both, the top of his head is cut off. I guess it looks cooler that way.... From what I can see of the hat, it is a single crochet hat, with the top flipped up so you can see the reverse side of the single crochet and it kinda looks like it is made with 5-ply yarn, not fancy yarn like homespun, but other thicker yarn.

Now what I really want is a picture of Toby crocheting, but I think this is closest I'm going to get. :) Maybe I'll find a picture of him with a crochet vest. ;)

Some Early Christmas Presents!

2010-11-25T18:17:00.000-06:00

Since my mom and dad will need part of their Christmas presents for their adoption trip to Eastern Europe, I decided to give it to them early. (They are flying out on Saturday!!!) And no, I am not ready for Christmas, because it hasn't even snowed yet here, but I have started Christmas presents! (Ok ok, there hasn't been any snow that has stayed on the ground, but I have friends that would argue that is has snowed...) ;)

Update: I typed this awhile ago, but the pictures wouldn't upload so I am posting this now. And... now it has snowed, it snowed a lot yesterday, but now it is all melted, but still freezing out! Brrr... Below is a really cool picture that one of my friends took yesterday. (By the way, this is the same friend that would argue with me that is has snowed like I said above.)

Cute Kitty Picture!

2010-11-25T18:12:00.000-06:00

Why not to buy Crystalite Crochet Hooks...

2010-11-22T17:55:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the blurry picture :(

This is why I will never again buy Susan Bates Crystalite crochet hooks in smaller sizes.... The metal ones might be tab bit more money but they are definitely a good investment! My friend Aubrey has trouble with her plastic hooks breaking all the time. I do use the larger size plastic Crystalite hooks and I love them! They don't break because they are so thick, and it's harder on my hand when I have to use a large metal hook, because it is heavy.

P.S. Don't feel bad for me for breaking my hook, it was kinda my fault, and I have at least 5 other hooks in the same size! :)

Stitched with Love for a very loved little boy...

2010-11-20T11:31:00.000-06:00

Rachel (12 mo old)

I made this hat and scarf for my little brother Elijah, soon to be home from Eastern Europe. I don't have a picture of Elijah with the hat and scarf yet, but I'm sure you won't mind this extra cute model! :)

Orphan Sunday

2010-11-07T20:59:00.000-06:00

October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and November is National Adoption Month. And today is Orphan Sunday. Are there 147 orphans world wide?? The answer is no, there are not 147 orphans, the correct number is 147 million orphans. That number is a lot, but it probably won't make a mark in your memory. However, what probably will make a mark is the pictures of these waiting children. I am going to do what my missionary friend Andrea did for her Orphan Sunday post - show you pictures of some of the many orphans.

“Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” - David Platt

Lucas (9)
BOY, born February 27, 2007
Lucas is a handsome boy who has just recently turned 3. He is HIV positive, but is said to be cognitively normal. he can be adopted with Steven or any other child in this same orphanage.
I have $0 in my grant!

Noah (9)

Boy, Born January 17, 2008
Noah is a sweet little munchkin who is waiting for his forever family. He has blonde hair and blue eyes.
From his medical records: Heart murmur, open arterial canal, hyperplasia of aorta, open oval window.

Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!
MORE PHOTOS AVAILABLE
I have $105 in my grant fund!

Anastasiya (9)

Girl, Born September 8, 2007

SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!!
Anastasiya is a darling little girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She is stuck in a crib for most of her life, and needs a family to get her OUT! Anastasiya does have an ASD (atrial septal defect) and an oval window that will need attention when she gets home. She needs to have surgery as soon as possible to correct this! She does has strabismus as well.
She is undernourished, and will blossom like a rose once home with her family.

Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!

I have $2135.5 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

Steven (9)
BOY, born May 30, 2007

This little one is SO cute! Wispy brown hair and giant brown eyes, Steven is HIV positive and has fetal alcohol syndrome. His records do not indicate any medical complications (thank goodness), but he does bear significant facial characteristics of FAS. Steven is described as a sweet and affectionate boy. he is perfectly mobile with no physical delays. He is still quite young, so academic/cognitive delays have not been documented as of yet.
For more info and parent support on adopting and raising a child with HIV, please visit www.projecthopeful.org
I have $0 in my grant!

Eddie (9)
Boy, Born August 23, 2006
Eddie was born with Cerebral Palsy. He also shows many facial features of a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. Eddie has an open oval window and an extra ventricular chord in his heart. He is said to have a moderate mental delay.
I have $0 in my grant fund!!

Edwin (9)
Boy, Born July 11, 2006

Edwin is a handsome little boy with dark hair and dark eyes. He was born with Goldenhar Syndrome. This is a very rare condition, and is accompanied by several additional medical complications for Edwin. His medical records indicate: congenital nervous system malformation – internal obstructive hydrocephalus, subcompensated form, rickets, mental delay, right micropsia, acoustic meatus atresia – Goldenhar syndrome, delay of physical development. This little boy needs SURGERY to relieve his hydrocephaly and a family who will love him and save him from certain death in a mental institution. He is already 3 1/2 years old, and is on his countdown to transfer And regrettably, he can not be adopted from the place he will be sent. Someone please save Edwin!
UPDATE: surgery for a shunt to relieve the pressure in his head is scheduled soon.
SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!!
***Due to the severity of Edwin’s needs, families interested in adopting this child in particular must be HOMESTUDY APPROVED before an official match or commitment can be made.***
I have $1105 in my grant fund!

Sergey (9) Boy, Born October 15, 2007

This little monkey has a whole host of medical complications, but he is so darling and will surely perish if he is not adopted. He will end up in an institution, bedridden for his very short life. Please consider Sergey!
From his medical records: secondary post-hemorrhagic obstructive internal hydrocephalus, spastic tetraparesis, convulsive disorder, mental disorder as a result of organic affection of brain, additional chord of the left heart ventricle, partial optic atrophy, congenital nystagmus, crossed eyes, delay of physical development
Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!
I have $5000 in my grant fund!

Camille (9)

Girl, Born June 4, 2007

Camille is a beautiful girl who deserves a life outside of this crib! She is diagnosed with hydrocephaly and CP. She has a precious smile (please inquire for more photos) and a will to survive and THRIVE!
From her medical records: hydrocephaly, symptomatic epilepsy, deep mental delay, kidny development pathology, extra right kidney, partical otrophy of vision nerve, flat feet
I have $0 in my grant!

Masha (9)

Girl, Born January 10, 2007
Photo dated Feb 2010. This beautiful muffin…..Masha struggles with many symptoms of FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome).
From her medical records: Diagnosis: mother had syphilis and was alcohol addict, congenital malformation of nervous system, encephalitis, secondary hydrocephaly, mental disorders as a result of organic affection of brain, chronic pyelonephritis, congenital malformation of genital system – reflex uropathy, crossed eyes. She HAS been tested for syphilis and is NEGATIVE, even though her mother was carrying at the time of her birth. This little one has so much potential, even though her records make her sound like she’s in a vegetative state (which she clearly isn’t!) My goodness, what a loving family can do for her, she will truly blossom!
Her strabismus has gotten worse, and at 3 she is still not walking. Masha needs a family to help her be all she can be!
If you are unfamiliar with FAS, please spend some time researching this condition. Just as with Down syndrome, FAS and FAE have a wide variation of effects on each child, both medically, physically, and cognitively. This is typically dependent on how long during the pregnancy the mother consumed alcohol, and of course, how much. There is no way to know this ahead of time.
Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!
I have $0 in my grant fund!

Mila (9)

Girl, Born July 5, 2006
FAS and cleft palate
SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!!
Look at this darling little cupie doll! Mila was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and several complications from that exposure. Her medical records indicate cleft palate, oval window (heart condition), strabismus, and microcephaly (all common symptoms of this condition). But she is also friendly and happy, loves attention, and desperately needs a loving family.
From an adoptive family who visited with her in August 2010: “She was in a group with two other children. The two little boys were in the playpen. She was free to wander but she stayed in the little area for her group. When she would get a little too close to us, her caregiver would say something quietly and she would turn around and return to her group. I was impressed with her ability to follow instructions.”
“The afternoon before, I spied her playing and babbling by herself in a shady spot by the front drive. I did not see more than a few children with her. I have seen her playing with others on other days though. Truthfully, there are children here who are probably not going to fit in with a typical family. I don’t see Mila as one of those children. She is probably the height of a three year old but wirey, thin, skinny!”
If you are unfamiliar with FAS, please spend some time researching this condition. Just as with Down syndrome, FAS and FAE have a wide variation of effects on each child, both medically, physically, and cognitively. This is typically dependent on how long during the pregnancy the mother consumed alcohol, and of course, how much. There is no way to know this ahead of time.
Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!
I have $620 in my grant fund!

Tina (9)
Girl
FAS
If you are unfamiliar with FAS, please spend some time researching this condition. Just as with Down syndrome, FAS and FAE have a wide variation of effects on each child, both medically, physically, and cognitively. This is typically dependent on how long during the pregnancy the mother consumed alcohol, and of course, how much. There is no way to know this ahead of time.
Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!

Violetta (9)
Girl, Born September 11, 2007
This beauty was born with significant effects from FAS FAS, syndrome of movement disorders in form of two-sided pyramidal insufficiency, condition after surgery: abdominal incision, bowel resection (September 19, 2008), end-to-end abdominal anastomosis as a result of enterocolitis and serous peritonitis, examination stage and assumption of partial optic atrophy, slight protein-energy malnutrition, defficiency anemia.
I have $0 in my grant fund!

These are just a few children in Elijah's orphanage, but I hope these pictures made a mark in your memory, and please consider visiting my mom's Orphan Sunday post. Thank you for reading!!

Elijah, Tori, and Anastasiya

2010-11-07T15:30:00.000-06:00

It's taken me a little longer than I wanted to get this post up, but I've been busy crocheting!! :)

You may remeber when I posted about my little brother we are adopting. If not, click here. On Octobeer 10th, our wonderful church family hosted the Elijah Joseph Packer Benefit. Even thought the Packers lost the game that day, we had a wonderful turn out. And, we raised a LOT of money to bring Elijah home. In fact we raised so much that we now have enough money to bring Elijah home!!! Thanks to many generous donations we raised $17,000!!! Don't we serve a great God??? You can read about the benefit here and here on my mom's blog.

So, after the benefit, I realized I needed to change my blog, Handiwork for Elijah because we had all the money we needed to bring Elijah home. I decided to change it to Tori (I posted about Tori here). Well, I changed my blog to Handiwork for Tori; but, with in 48 hours of me changing it to Tori, I found out she had a full grant!!! And a few days later I found out she had a family!!! Now there is a special thing about this family. They have adopted before, from Eastern Europe, and they adopted from the very same orphange/institution that I got to visit on my trip to Eastern Europe earlier this summer! How cool is that?

So I decided I needed to change my blog again. I had a hard time deciding between Noah and Anastasiya, both from Elijah's orphanage and listed on Reece's Rainbow. I decided to go with Anastasiya, and now my blog is Handiwork for Anastasiya. Please visit it here, and consider helping to bring Anastasiya home!!

My friend Genesis and I are also advocating for Anastasiya, and we started the blog Saving Anastasiya. Please visit and follow along on our journey to find sweet Anastasiya a family!!

Anastasiya

Tori

Elijah

Sorry this post didn't have much to do with crocheting but I hope you enjoyed it!! :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Tori!!

2010-10-14T21:23:00.000-05:00

Tori (9)

This precious little girl's name is Tori. Right now she lives in an orphanage in Eastern Europe (EE), the same orphanage that my little brother Elijah is in. Actually she used to live in the same orphanage as my brother. When she turned 4 last year she was transferred to a mental institution, where she has spent the last last year of her life. Why was she transferred to the unspeakably horrible life in the institution??? Because, she has Cerebral Palsy. Does she look like she should belong in a mental institution??? No, she does not. All orphans in EE that have some kind on physical defect (Down Syndrome, Cleft Palate, Fetal Alcohal Syndrome, Club foot, Cerebral Palsy, etc.) are given up at birth (with encouragement of doctors!) because the society does not want them; and there is no help or support given to families if they decide to keep these precious little ones. So they are sent to orphanages, some nice, some very poor. The orphanage that Tori was in, and Elijah is in is one of the poorest one's in EE! In between the age of 4 and 6, this orphange being 4 years old, the children are transferred to institutions. Over 85% of these child die within the first year. If they somehow survive to age 18, they move, one last time, to an adult handicapped home, where they live out the rest of they're days.

Sweet Tori does have Cerebral Palsy, but she isn't delayed developmentally (she is as much as being in the metal institution for a year would make her!). Below is her information from Reece's Rainbow, where she is listed for adoption. There are many people advocating and raising funds for her in the Reece's Rainbow blogging community, and we are working together to raise a full grant for her so her forever family can step forward and bring her home to the loving family she so desperately deserves. If you would like to donate to her grant you can go to my mom's blog, and there is a Chip-In on the top of her blog. It is higher than it shows because it's having a problem updating. Today is Tori's 5th birthday and please consider helping us get her out of that horrible institution by her next birthday. She didn't deserve to spend today without the loving arms of a Moma and a Papa she can call her own, so lets make that happen!!!

Tori (9)

Girl, Born October 14, 2005

CP and Spinal Hernia

SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!!

This little angel can just light up a room with her smile and her giggle. She is constantly happy, very alert and playful, and is an orphanage favorite. We are waiting for some new photos of her, but she is registered and available to be adopted now! She has had surgery for her spinal hernia (not spina bifida), but it was unsuccessful in her country. She is not able to pull up or stand/walk on her own. We hope she would have much better chances of correction here in the US, but we will not have any x-rays or other records available prior to your trip to share with a doctor for review. She has decompensated hydrocephaly as well.

Children from this orphanage are sent to the institution promptly on their birth date, so we are working hard to prevent that for this little sunshine. She will be bedridden for her short life if she is transferred. Please consider rescuing Miss Tori!
UPDATE: Tori has already been transferred to the institution. It is imperative she be rescued right away.

I have $1896 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption! 

Block Party Report #1

2010-10-07T13:13:00.001-05:00

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you probably remember when I had the Block Party last spring. (You can read everything about the Block Party here.) I asked knitters and crocheters to make 6 inch squares or blocks for me. We then got together, and sewed the blocks into blankets that we sent over to Ukraine. We ended up with over 300 blocks, which made 8 blankets. We also collected a lot of other things, such as baby hats and slippers to send over to Ukraine. I am planning on doing the Block Party again this year, probably at the end of February. I have already received lots of squares for it! Although it is a very big goal, my goal is to double the number of blocks we receive this year from last year. That means over 614 blocks! WOW! I did the math for last year, and it took me about 25 minutes to make a square, and we had 300 squares, so that's 6000 minutes, plus it probably took longer than 20 minutes for most of the squares. Which means, if we added it all together, it would have taken one person over 5 straight days (24 hour days) to make all of these squares!! Wow! The pictures in this post are all pictures of the wonderful squares and baby hats I've already received for next years Block Party.

Thank you to my Great Aunt Janice and her friend Dorothy for these wonderful blocks! My aunt supplies the yarn, and her friend knits for her.

Look at them all! There are enough here to make a blanket with!

She also made these warm baby hats!

These granny squares are from Ms. Valerie W who helped us last year.

These blocks are from Mrs. Geri E, a wonderful 95 year old lady who gave squares last year too!

I had this typed up for awhile and I was going to wait until we got closer to next years Block Party to post this, but I have add on to it now because I have received more squares and baby hats!

My great aunt's friend Dorothy also made all these knit squares!! There are about 150 here! I can't imagine doing all that knitting!! I hope to make some of these knitted squares into a blanket or two as soon as I catch up on my orders, finish my Christmas presents, and don't have any upcoming Craft Sales. :)

All the different colors

All the warm knitted baby hats!

Thank you so much to everyone who has given squares and hat so far and who will contribute squares as we get closer to the Block Party!!!!

My Contribution to Project Happy Feet

2010-09-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

Last week I shipped the slippers I had made for Project Happy Feet to Melissa. Unfortunately nobody emailed me about the giveaway saying they had sent slippers to her, so I still have the hooks which I'll probably use as a door prize for the Block Party next spring. I tied all of my slippers together with a crochet chain, and put a tag on there that said "Jesus Christ loves you! These slippers were made just for you by Sarah!", in both Russian and English. (With the help of Google translator! ;D )

All of the slippers

One of the pairs of slippers

Another one of the pairs of slippers!

My Crocheting Story

2010-09-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we had to turn in our Record Books for 4-H. If you're a 4-H member, or have been in 4-H you probably know all about record books, but if not, I'll explain them to you. As a 4-H member, after the fair you have to turn in your record book. You have to fill out you pages of all the different projects you did, include pictures of what you showed at fair and what placings you got, fill out several forms, include pictures of other 4-H activities, and write a 4-H story about your past year in 4-H. It all has to be neat and organized and when you turn it in, your club leaders can nominate you, (depending on the neatness and how well it's put together) for an outstanding record book. Then the books that get nominated are turned in to the county, and the county decides if they deserve an outstanding record book award. Since crocheting has been most of my 4-H year and I knew I wouldn't be able to fit all of it on the 4-H Story sheet, I decided to write My Crocheting Story which I added below. Sorry that it's a little long, but enjoy!

My Crocheting Story

I love to crochet and my love for crocheting has given me many opportunities I never would have had otherwise.

In March of 2009, I started crocheting. My mom taught me, and I started by making a scarf. At first my tension was really tight, but I got better by the end of the scarf. I made several things for the 2009 county fair. I showed my scarf, on which I got a third (yes, I agree that it should have been a third, but the judge should have given me a little bit of break because it was my first project!); and I showed a pack of six hair scrunchies that I made, on which I got a first. I also showed a set of two pot holders, on which I got a second; a set of two dish cloths, on which I got a first, and a Merit Award; and a baby hat, on which I got a first place.

Because of my success at fair I started crocheting more, and at the end of August I decided to start my own business selling crocheted items. I got several orders, and I sold dish cloths at a small craft shop for a while. I started my own crocheting and sewing blog in November (forhisgloryhandiwork.blogspot.com). I also sold some of my items at the Craft Sale at the Christmas Fair at the library in Winneconne. I made Christmas presents for my family, and I learned a lot about making up my own patterns.

In February, I decided to host a Block Party. I asked a bunch of friends who knit and crochet to start making 6 inch blocks. Then in March we all got together and sewed together the squares into blankets for charity. We collected over 300 squares which made 8 blankets and two scarves!! We also collected 23 pairs of slippers, 2 pairs of baby booties, 4 baby sweaters, 34 crocheted baby hats, 17 knit baby hats, and 21 flannel baby blankets!! Below are pictures.

I made over 60 squares, 14 baby hats, 21 flannel blankets, a baby sweater, and 12 pairs of slippers myself. As we prayed about where to send the blankets, my mom came up with the idea to send them to Ukraine. We have a friend who is a short-term missionary and she had been to Ukraine several times, and had spoken of a young man named Max who runs an amazing ministry that reaches out to the lost and forgotten of Ukraine. While emailing with Renae, Max’s contact person in the U.S., about the need for blankets, and what size to make them, she asked if we would be interested in going on a mission trip to Ukraine in July this summer. My mom couldn’t go on the trip as she still had a nursing baby at home, so my mom and I decided that me and my dad should go on the mission trip. We dropped the idea on my dad at supper that night, and after several weeks he finally said yes!

We were able to get-together with the team that was going to Ukraine at the end of April for a packing party. We sorted all of things everyone had collected to send to Max (including all the blankets and other things collected from the Block Party!) and packed them into tubs to ship to him. We ended up with eleven 60 pound, 35/45 gallon tubs full of stuff!! As we got closer to leaving I started another blog to blog about our trip (ukrainemissiontrip2010.blogspot.com). We had several more team meetings before the trip.

We flew out of Minneapolis on July 1, 2010. I was just starting the best trip of my life (so far) and it all started with crocheting. We then flew to Chicago, and then on to Germany, and then to our destination – Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Ukraine was a former part of the U.S.S.R., and the area we were in speaks Russian, but we had translators. We had an amazing ministry time while we were there.

Most of the time we ministered in an adult handicapped home. We were at the facility most of the time but we also took them to outings to the beach a couple of times. We also go to visit the teen dorms, new mother dorms, baby orphanage, and children’s handicapped facility. There are only about 15 ladies at the adult handicapped home, and 300 men. One of these ladies is named Valla. From what I heard after, she had talked to almost everyone on our team (through a translator) and it just happened to be me who she talked to when she said she needed new slippers, because the ones she was wearing were getting old and had holes in them. I told her I would make some new ones and bring them to her next time I saw her. So I was able to go back to our apartment that night and crochet her a pair of slippers. I brought them to her the next day, and she loved them and kept saying how beautiful they were. It was so special to me that I was able to see what my hobby could do in the life of one of the lost and forgotten of Ukraine. I hope they fit her as she didn’t try them on as she was saving them for winter. I was also able to make a kitchen set for our amazing cooks while we were there. That trip changed my life and it helped me see how I could use my talents in the mission field.

A couple weeks after I got back, I showed more of my crocheting at fair. You can see pictures of those in the following pages. (Or since you aren't reading my record book, you can go here to se what I showed! :) )

I am currently back to selling things, but this time I am raising money for my little brother, Elijah’s adoption from Eastern Europe. Elijah will be three on Sept. 17, and he has Down Syndrome, and other heart and kidney problems. This adoption was not because of the trip, but Ukraine and the country he is in are very similar, and we were able to see places like the place he is living now, and places he will be in the future if he lives to be an adult. In the orphanage Elijah is currently in, the children are transferred to a mental institution at the age of four, where they are basically tied in a crib for the rest of their lives. 95% of these children die within the first year there. Because of his medical condition, we are trying to get him home as soon as possible, and my parents hope to be traveling in Dec. to get him. I started a 3rd blog, and I am selling my crocheted items on it to raise money to bring him home (handiworkforeliajh.blogspot.com). You can also visit my mom’s adoption blog – mygodislord.blogspot.com, to find out where we are in the process.

I hope to someday go back to Ukraine, and teach one or two people in the handicapped home how to make slippers. Since they have so much time on their hands, they will be able to make slippers for everyone in the facility, and no one will have cold feet during the winter. This is a dream of mine, and I am a long way from being there, but I hope someday God will be able to fulfill it, hopefully through me! :)
Without crocheting, I would not have gone on the mission trip, and we probably still would have adopted, but I wouldn’t be able to help with funds as much as I am now. Crocheting has definitely changed my life and I can’t wait to see what new adventures it leads me on.

Adorable Pillow Case Pattern!

2010-09-16T18:03:00.012-05:00

One of my mom's friends emailed us the link to this adorable pillow case pattern! The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrYWCma9wgM or you can watch it below. I haven't tried making one yet, but they look incredibly easy!!!

Fair Showing - Knitting

2010-09-16T17:49:00.000-05:00

I showed this knitted scarf and got a blue on it - the judge liked that I chose such a hard yarn to work with for my first project. I used this yarn because it was too hard to crochet with.

I also showed this knitted dish cloth and got a red on it.

I also made this baby hat and got a red on it because the gathering at the top is uneven.

Fair Showing - Sewing

2010-09-16T17:42:00.000-05:00

Me and my skirt - I got a Best of Show on my skirt. This was my second year in a row getting Best of Show in Clothing

Rebekah and her dress, on which I got a blue

My bag to go with my skirt - I got a red on it because the tension for the zig-zagging around the was off and she didn't like how it was so floppy (that won't matter if it's stuffed with yarn!)

National Sewing Month

2010-09-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

September is National Sewing Month. What will you be sewing this month?? What have you already sewn?

Project Happy Feet Deadline

2010-09-07T16:59:00.000-05:00

Awhile ago I posted about Project Happy Feet. You can read that post and find out more about it here. Melissa got her travel date and she will be in Liza's country at the end of this month!! I'm so happy for her! So the deadline she wants the slippers by is September 25. I haven't gotten any emails saying that people have shipped slippers to her yet, so please send her some as it very easily be you who is the winner, since you probably won't have very much competition (hopefully you will!). I really don't want to keep the crochet hooks so please start making slippers!!! :)

Kitchen Set for Cooks in Ukraine

2010-09-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

These wonderful cooks (not Brian, he was just a wonderful eater :D)...

Made all this wonderful, delicous food for us

While we were in Ukraine

So this is the gift I made for them - a kitchen set. 4 dish cloths (that needed to be blocked!), 2 pot holders, and 2 sun hats.

Spa-see-ba Katya, Zhenya, and Natasha for all our yummy food!!! It was all amazing!!!!

Rebekah's Dress - Fair Project

2010-09-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

I made my little sister, Rebekah, a dress, and showed it at Fair. I started it the Saturday before Fair, and finished it the Sunday before Fair (Clothing showing is on Monday). It was very easy to make, and didn't take that long, and it's so cute on her! It has elastic around the neck and sleeves. The pattern I used was a

Simplicity 5695. I made veiw D, and made the ruffle longer.

Plarn Scraps

2010-09-07T10:16:00.000-05:00

I have been working on making plarn a little bit lately. I hope to make another plarn bag like the ones Rachel and I made for our mom's to sell on my other blog. I am keeping track of how many bags it's taking, and I might try a different pattern. I haven't started making it yet, I'm still working on cutting up the bags. Several people have generously donated bags to me, including my mom. I love raiding her bag stash, and she loves it that her bags disappear! :) The three bags below are all plarn scraps! They are the seams on the bottom and handles from cutting up the bags! That's a lot of scraps, and I can still recycle them by bringing them to the bag recycle box at the grocery store.

Wordless Wednesday - My lastest Joann's Purchase

2010-09-01T08:35:00.001-05:00

Project Happy Feet and Giveaway

2010-08-30T19:08:00.000-05:00

A blogging friend of mine is working to adopt a little girl from a country in Eastern Europe. Melissa has been connecting with some missionaries over in the country she'll be in, and she is going to help distribute slippers for Project Happy Feet. She is asking for slippers, knitted, crocheted, or store bought, and socks to go underneath them. She will take these with her when they travel, and she will be able to distribute them to adults in a handicapped facility and children in orphanages. In the countries in Eastern Europe, the floors in the handicapped homes and orphanages are typically cement, which often gets very cold and damp in the winter. Sometimes it can be so cold, even inside, that standing water can freeze in rooms such as bathrooms that have missing or broken windows. The residents don't have proper footwear for these rooms, no shoes, no slippers, not even socks! Cold feet are miserable feet, but warm feet are happy feet! There are many foot illnesses due to not having footwear, and by providing a resident with slippers, you could even save a life. Melissa hopes to bring slippers, socks, and/or money with her when she travels and she will be able to be there and get pictures when they are handed out. You can visit her blog to find out more about her adoption journey to bring Liza home, and you can visit this post for more info about Project Happy Feet.

I am doing a giveaway for Project Happy Feet. For every pair of slippers you make to send to Melissa, your name will be entered once in a drawing. The winner will receive metal crochet hooks, sizes L, M, and N - perfect for making slippers. To enter, simply make slippers and send them to Melissa at the address provided in her blog post. After you've mailed them, be sure to email me with your name and number of slippers you donated, and I will enter you in the drawing. (Note - if you live near me, and you want to participate, you can get your slippers to me, and I can ship them with mine.) I will draw the winner when Melissa leaves to travel, which will (hopefully) be sometime in the next few weeks. The pattern I use for slippers can be found here.

Thanks for participating!!

The prize for the giveaway

Frosty's Face!

2010-08-30T19:06:00.000-05:00

Frosty now has a face! I posted about Frosty quite awhile ago but I hadn't decided what I was going to do for his face. You can read that post and more about Frosty here.

Fair Showing - Crocheting

2010-08-18T10:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry it took me so long to get this post up. Below is pictures of me showing and some of my projects.

Showing my plarn bag

Showing my afghan

Showing Frosty (Frosty did finally get a face! :D)

I got Best of Show on my afghan! That is the item for my division - Beginning Crocheting. There is also Advanced Crocheting. I am not allowed to move up to advanced until I have been in the crocheting project 3 years. This is only my second year.

I got a 1st place on my fish!

Sorry this picture of Frosty is blury. I'll try and get a better one of his face soon. There is a red ribbon next to Frosty's head, but that was from somebody else's project. I got blue on Frosty!

Sorry this is sideways, it wasn't like that before I downloaded it. I got a first place and an Honorable Mention on my pot holders.

Sorry about this one too. I got a red (2nd place) on my baby set all because of ONE thread that I missed that was sticking out. :(

My hat and my scarf, I got a blue on both of them.

And my plarn bag, which I also got a first on.

I would have brought more to the fair, but they don't have enough places to enter things. I am getting that changed for next year. :) I'm very happy with how this years fair went, and I can't wait until next year! I give all the praise to God for giving me this talent to crochet, for how much I've improved, and how I did at fair!

Doilies and Grandmothers

2010-08-18T10:07:00.000-05:00

Awhile ago my great grandmother passed away. She was an amazing lady. You name a handiwork - crocheting, knitting, tatting, painting, she could do it! And do it very well! She was my mom's grandmother, and she taught my mom to crochet, and my mom taught me. She made many many doilies. Neither my mom or me has learned to make doilies yet. That is on my goal list, and I am going to try and get it done this winter. Thread crochet takes a long time, and a lot of patience, but otherwise isn't that different from crocheting with yarn. It's just smaller and takes some getting used to. My friend Brianna makes doilies. I admire her for having the patience to do that, because that is one of the main things she makes. She sells them. You can see some of her doilies here and here. Another thing my great grandmother made were thread stars. She probably made hundreds of them in her lifetime. They were about 4 inches wide, and made of thread. She attached a tag to each of them that said "Hang this star in your window so that Jesus knows you love Him". We have several of those hanging in our house and they're very special to us. She crocheted me and the three middle kids in my family baby blankets when they were born, those are beautiful too! She crocheted mostly thread items, and knitted with thread as well as yarn. She also was an amazing painter! Art skills aren't something I inherited from her. :) My cousin got them instead. I am the only one of her descendants that crochets (besides my mom), so I got all of her crochet hooks. Most of them are thread hooks, but there is a really interesting one in there that's metal and it looks handmade. My great aunt Mona knits, so she got all of her knitting needles. I also received all of my grandmothers yarn (against my wishes, I have quite enough), because my aunt didn't want to fly back home with a huge tub of yarn! So I have a huge tub of yarn in my closet from her. The last thing I received when she passed was her book of patterns which is a treasure (or will be when I start thread crochet) even though she wasn't a very talented pattern writer. It has all of her doily patterns as well as the star pattern! Sadly, she passed away this past spring. She died at age 94, and was crocheting, knitting, painting, and doing everything else until the end when she couldn't see her work anymore! She was an amazing lady, and the greatest great grandmother ever, and without her I wouldn't be where I am as a crocheting right now. Thank you Grandma!! One of my other great grandmothers (my mom's other grandma) and her mother were also both excellent crocheters! I do not think crocheting would even be known to us today if it wasn't for our grandmothers and to pass it on through the generations. Grandmothers are definitely to credit for keeping crocheting alive!! Thank you to all the grandmothers on this earth and who have lived this earth for keeping this amazing hobby alive!! I know I will being passing this hobby on to my grandchildren (when I eventually have some!) and I hope you will too!

We think this doily is tatting. Does anyone know if this is tatting?

This doily beautiful doily was crocheted by my Grandma

This doily (also crocheted) is my favorite

This is a hanging in our living room that has one of my grandma's stars, a picture of her, and if you can't read it, a note from her that says "God loves you and so do I - Grandma D"

This is the blanket she made for me when I was born

This is one of the blankets that she made for the 3 middle children in our family

Some of the larger hooks I inherited from her

The smaller thread hooks I got from her (sorry the picture is a little blurry!)

One of her paintings - This one she painted for me and it's my favorite of all her paintings

One of the stars she made

Thank you Grandma! You left a great heritage for our family (especially with your handiwork!)!!

The TOP SECRET Project!

2010-08-17T22:06:00.000-05:00

Quite awhile ago, my friend Rachel and I decided to crochet a project for our mom's for Mother's Day (we did plan this before Mother's Day!). Unfortunately Mother's Day came and went before we could get together to start it. Our moms had no idea what we were making until we gave it to them. We called our bags our "top secret project" and nobody knew what we were doing until we were done, besides Anna and Rebekah (Rachel's younger sister) who helped make plarn for us at the end. We made these bags completely out of plarn and added a strand of white acrylic to the handle for extra support. This was Rachel's first big project and she did amazing on her bag, even though she doesn't agree she did a good job. It took us two times getting together to finish it, but we had fun working together and spending time with each other. We even won two Dairy Queen blizzards on the radio's Bible Quiz the first time we were working on our project. :) We had to fudge the pattern a little but they still turn out ok! Our mom's both loved our bags and we had fun making them! I brought mine to fair.

My bag

My mom and her bag

Rachel's mom and her bag

Free Crochet Plarn Coaster Pattern

2010-08-17T14:07:00.001-05:00

Easy Crochet Plarn Coaster

I wanted to make a coaster with some of the plarn I had made, so I made up my own pattern, having no idea how it would turn out. It turned out better than I thought it would! It ended up in a hexagon shape, but at least it laid flat, and it will serve its purpose. I probably could have found a good pattern of the internet, but I hadn't looked, and its just as fun to make up your own pattern. :-) If you are not familiar with "plarn", it is plastic bag yarn - yarn made out of plastic bags. You can learn how to make it here. I have made several things with plarn, and I hope to post about them soon.

You are welcome to items made form this pattern, but please do not sell or redistribute the pattern. You are welcome to link back here though!

Finished Size:
About 4 inches in diameter

Supplies:
L-11 crochet hook or M-12 crochet hook
About 3 or 4 plastic bags cut into plarn

Skill Level:
Easy

Gauge:
Your exact guage isn't nessesary for this project, as long as you coaster is big enough for a cup to sit on.

Abbreviations Used:
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
sl st - slip stitch

Directions:
ch 2

Round 1:
6 sc in second ch from hook, join with sl st in 1st sc (6 sc)

Round 2:
Ch 1, 2 sc in every st around, do not sc in sl st, sl st into 1st sc (12 sc)

Round 3:
Ch 1, (sc in 1st st, 2 sc in next st) around, do not sc in sl st, sl st into 1st sc (18 sc)

Round 4:
Ch 1, (sc in 1st 2 st, 2 sc in next st) around, do not sc in sl st, sl st into 1st sc (24 sc)

Round 5:
(This row is optional - I put it on mine, but you don't have to.) Ch 1, (sc in 1st 3 st, 2 sc in next st) around, do not sc in sl st, sl st into 1st sc (30 sc)

A New Blog, More Handiwork, And a New Little Brother!!!!

2010-08-16T16:58:00.000-05:00

A New Blog, More Handiwork, And a New Little Brother!!!! All in one! :) Yes, I have started a new blog. Yes, there will be more of my handiwork involved. And the cause is a fundraiser for my little brother! My family has decided to adopt a little boy named Elijah from Eastern Europe. I am selling my handiwork on my new blog to raise money to help bring him home!! Some of the things I will be selling there are - dish cloths, pot holders, slippers, scarves, hats, sewn bags, sewn cloth napkins, baby accessories, sun hats, and much more! Please stop in at our adoption blog and read about our adoption journey! - mygodislord.blogspot.com. And please stop by my new blog too and see what I currently have for sale! - handiworkforelijah.blogspot.com. We are doing everything we can to get my new little brother home here, and one of the ways I'm helping is with my new blog!

Elijah Joseph!

Knitted Baby Hat

2010-08-16T16:47:00.000-05:00

I just found this post. I was typed at the beginning of June, and I never got published. I thought I had published it, but I guess not. :)

I finished this knitted baby hat the other day. I am going to bring it to fair. The pattern for it can be found here. I put a crocheted border around the bottom of it. After fair I am going to send it to Ukraine. I hope it will keep some little baby's head warm!

Fair Showing

2010-08-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

We had Fair showing today. It went really well. I showed all of my crocheting, knitting, sewing, photography and woodworking today. Tomorrow I'm showing my Foods and Vegetables, and Thursday I'm showing my cat. I'll post pictures and more about today soon, as it's already 10 pm and it's been a long day. :)

Oh, I haven't posted pictures yet but I finished my huge fiesta skirt that is 30 feet around the bottom! Pictures of that coming soon!

And I'm back from Ukraine!

2010-07-19T21:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am back! We got in about 1 pm today. I am so happy to be back, but I would go back in a few days if I could! :-) I'll post pictures of the things I've made soon. Thank you for your prayers! Please check out our mission trip blog - www.ukrainemissiontrip2010.blogspot.com.

Off to Ukraine!!

2010-06-29T17:41:00.005-05:00

We are off to Ukraine! My dad and I are going to Ukraine on a mission trip! We are flying out early Thursday morning, and I probably won't find time to post tomrrow, so I am posting this now. We are coming back On July 19th. I will not be posting on this blog while I am gone, but you can follow our journey on my other blog - http://www.ukrainemissiontrip2010.blogspot.com/. I will try to post on that blog, but we are not sure how good the internet connection will be in Ukraine. When I get back, I will post pictures here of all of the slippers I made on the plane. I am also working on making a kitchen set for the cooks over there that are going to be cooking all of our meals for us. On the plane on the way back, I am planning on making a teddy bear for fair.

Fair Projects!

2010-06-17T12:15:00.000-05:00

I have been working really hard on county fair projects lately. Below are pictures of what I have completed so far. I also have my afghan done. On the plane on the way back from my trip, I am planning on making a teddy bear. And after that I will be officially DONE with my crocheting fair projects!!! :D

3 of my fishy dish cloths - the pattern for those can be found here.

Here is a baby set that I made. The hat is the same pattern as this pattern, except using a J hook, and two strands of yarn. The pattern for the sweater can be found here.

This was my first time making baby booties, so I am surprised they turned out so well! The pattern for them can be found here.

Two pot holders. I made up the pattern, and it can be found here.

This hat is an exact copy of the one I made for my little sister Rebekah. I also made hats like this for my brother Isaac, my sister Anna, and I made a bunch of them for my grandpa to send to Mexico. The pattern for the hat can be found here.

Slippers - The pattern for these can be found here. This is the pattern that was used for the 23 pairs of slippers for Ukraine.

I have had this scarf done for awhile, and I have probably post pictures of it before, but I thought, since I have it done, I might as well bring it to fair.